EWING — Cheers erupted in the aquatics building at TCNJ. Family and friends jumped up and down while some hung over the balcony overlooking the pool screaming, “Come on Suzie,” “Don’t stop Peter!”

It was the New Jersey Special Olympics, and participants had come from all over to compete. The swim races made up just one of the many events taking place.

Katie Zeck was one of the countless volunteers who signed up for the event. Clad in a blue volunteer shirt with the words “Genuine Jersey Pride” displayed in large white letters across the back. Her job at the games was a local training program escort, where she was assigned a specific team from Somerset County called the “Sea Wasps.”

As she stood watching the races, a teenage boy came up to her and engulfed her in an enormous hug, the participant’s affection was contagious and they were extremely grateful for the volunteers.

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Katie had signed up for the Special Olympics hoping to gain some experience in working with those who have special needs. Being that she is an education major, volunteering would help better herself as a teacher for her future students.

“My mom worked for the Special Olympics after she graduated college and told me about her role as a volunteer and how rewarding she found it,” she said.

As her team’s race was approaching Katie escorted the group of women who were part of the Sea Wasps into the pool area as they waited for their turn to compete. She talked and listened to their excited chatter of their upcoming races. When it was their turn she held a couple of their belongings and stood at the edge of the pool. Holding a pair of flip-flops and a pink and white-stripped towel, she cheered for her team.

“I cheered, I talked to them during down time, guided them from one location of the gym to another and performed any other small tasks asked of me by the team’s head coach.”

Once your race was over, the participants were led to the awards room up the stairs where it was filled with excited supporters. The room had wood floors and up front was a red display of varying heights for the competitors to stand on to accept their medals. Behind them was a backdrop that had the Special Olympics logo splattered across it, and flowers surrounded the stage. Chairs that had been set up were filled people, while others sat on the floors and stood all to support the swimmers.

The competitors raised their arms in triumph as the crowd went wild cheering and yelling. Huge smiles escaped their lips as they listened to the cheers and saw the flashing of cameras.

Some held hands as they retreated from the stage congratulating one another, while others raced into their parent’s arm. Katie congratulated all the participants from her team giving them high fives. An older gentleman who was a parent of one of the ladies came up to her to express his gratitude. He told her what a big heart she had to help out in something like this — something that isn’t easy.

By the end of the day Katie had been there for eight hours, although she didn’t feel like it felt that long. Because of the length of time she spent at the games, she had grown very close to the athletes, their parents and the coaches.

“Despite how small my contributions seemed, they were so grateful for it, which made me feel especially thankful for the experience,” she said.